


Acrophobia

by ThomasSangsterAddict



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 09:11:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18797335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomasSangsterAddict/pseuds/ThomasSangsterAddict
Summary: Newt throws up on a beautiful stranger at the amusement park due to his acrophobia, or fear of heights. Now he's going on a bigger rollercoaster, the scariest one of them all: love.I really hope the Maze Runner fandom isn't dead. If it isn't I'll keep writing.Please don't let it die. Please Tommy, please.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Also on Wattpad under the same name.

Gears could be heard from outside the park itself. A cool blue jeep pulled into the massive parking lot with full-speed. A teenage girls laugh rang out against the noise as she slammed the car door shut. She had wavy black hair, pale skin, and icy blue eyes.

"Teresa!" A boy got out of the car. "You suck at driving."

The boy had a British accent. His blonde hair was messy in the wind, and he glared chocolate daggers at Teresa from the other side of the car. She swung her purse further onto her shoulder and started walking towards the park.

"Don't be such a buzzkill, Newt," She mocked. "This is why we're here, so you can live a little."

"I genuinely think you're here to kill me," Newt complained, but followed behind her anyways.

The walk was short and there were tons of people in the way. Teresa had no problem shoving past them, flipping off anyone who complained about it. 'Shouldn't have walked so slow!' She'd say. Newt awkwardly excused himself through the crowd, trying to keep up with the maniac before him. They eventually made it to the front gate where they needed to pay.

"Welcome to WICKED Park," The worker said from behind the counter. "All the rides here are _wicke_ d man."

He sounded like he hated his life. "Is it just the two of you?"

They nodded. "That'll be 30 dollars even."

Teresa took out a twenty and a ten from her purse. The man glanced at Newt, and Newt dropped his gaze to the floor. Teresa moved her hand a little closer to his face with the money. He took it and gestured for them to walk through the gate. A lady after him put bands on our wrists and let us into the park.

"What do you want to ride first?" Teresa asked. "I'm thinking about going small first to warm you up, and then end it on the Griever."

"T-The what?!" Newt gasped. "Teresa, if you take me on that I might actually die."

"Don't be silly, you'll be fine." She said to calm him. "The most you'll do is throw up on someone or pass out."

Newt chucked, very aware of his impending doom. Teresa didn't care though, and led him through the park anyways, pointing at rides while Newt turned into a very dangerous shade of green. He didn't know why she was so determined to break him out of his shell, he was perfectly fine just being a coward.

"Why don't we play at the arcade first?" She suggested.

"I'd be okay with that." He smiled.

They found this old-looking building near the Log Ride filled with electronics that made Newt question if the placement of this place was something he should be concerned about. He pushed the thoughts of electrocution away, it was better than falling off of a rollercoaster anyday.

Teresa opened the cracked wooden door and stepped in. It creaked as they both entered. It was a relatively dark building, but had a decent amount of people in it. There were machines practically spouting Wickets, the name of prize tickets that the company needed to sound hip.

"You got quarters?" Newt asked Teresa.

"I was preparing for this day for a solid year when you told me that you'd go with me," Teresa stated. "Of course I have quarters."

Teresa laughed as she pulled out rolls of quarters from her purse. Newt wondered how she was able to carry it around all day. She handed him a roll of quarters and put all but one more back in her back. It was go time.

Newt dropped his coins in a game that shot the coin at a moving wall with holes labeled with the amount of wickets he'd get if he made it in. Right off the bat, he made 50 tickets with 3 coins. This game was the one he was best at. Teresa was playing a game based on a tv show that she used to watch when they were younger.

"Newt," Teresa got his attention. "Remember when your mom bought us a bunch of snacks while we watched Deal or no Deal in your room for like two days straight?"

Newt's mom did do that. She did a lot of things over the last 15 years that Teresa and him have been friends. Right now, it was the summer before their Senior year and they would have to choose which colleges they wanted to go to. They'd been friends since they were like two years old and Newt dreaded the thought of having to move away from her.

"Yeah, that was the same year we discovered arcades." Newt laughed.

"Holy crap!" Teresa yelled. "I won the 500 case!"

Sure enough, tickets started shooting out from the bottom. "This is why you always pick case 2!"

Newt continued landing coins in various holes with different wicket amounts on them while Teresa was jamming hers into her purse. Newt had half the roll left and Teresa only used about two coins. He did get bored though and wanted to do something else now.

"You hungry?" Teresa asked, seeming to read his mind. "I really want a soft pretzel."

"Sounds like a plan," Newt replied.

The exited the building in search for a Pretzel stand. They did find one after a 10 minute walk and had to wait in line for a couple minutes. It was only 10 in the morning so they still had time to do anything that they wanted.

Both of them got soft pretzels and they sat at a table underneath a tree. Newt could hear rollercoasters all around them. The people were screaming their heads off; the wind sounded like a waterfall moving through the air. It terrified him, but Teresa kept eating her soft pretzel nonchalantly. It made him feel like a wimp.

Here he was on the brink of an anxiety attack about riding a rollercoaster while his friend had ridden them from the day that she was tall enough to actually get on the ride. Really tall shoes helped her reach that point earlier, thus proving Newt's point that compared to Teresa, he was nothing but a coward. Sure, she wouldn't tell him that, but he felt like it.

"Quit thinking so hard, you're going to pull a muscle," Teresa said. "Is this about the rollercoasters?"

Newt nodded and Teresa sighed. "I'm trying to get you over your fear of heights."

"It's not a fear, it's a phobia." Newt stated. "Acrophobia."

Teresa babbled on about how it was her goal to cure him, and stuff like. Newt wasn't really paying attention. They have had this conversation many times. This is the only time her persuasiveness actually worked on him, so now he he was sitting in WICKED Park, counting the minutes until he'd have to ride the Griever, one of the tallest rollercoasters in the world.

"You wanna go on the Log Ride first?" Teresa asked. "You always have fun on that ride."

"Lead the way," Newt said.

"Great!" Teresa smiled. "Then we'll have to ride something that will cool you off."

Newt felt something twist inside his stomach. His fears were telling him that something bad was going to happen. That was his body's way of telling him to get the hell out of there.

They got in line at the Log Ride shortly after that conversation. It moved rather quickly, and Newt was excited. That wasn't a feeling he was used to in a place like this. Most of the time it was existential dread.

Teresa and Newt were at the front of the line. A 3-person log drifted into the hut they were waiting in. A worker opened the gate and they both hopped in. To both of their surprise, another person also joined them in the log. It was a tall Asian guy with black hair and really athletic looking.

"Sorry, my friend ditched me and they won't let someone ride alone," He said with an awkward smile.

"It's-" Teresa cut herself off. "It's um..."

"It's fine," Newt finished for her. "But you're sitting in the back."

"My name's Minho," He introduced.

Newt and Teresa introduced themselves as well and the log started to move. The order of the log went, from front to back, Newt, Teresa, then Minho. Teresa and Minho were engaged in a conversation while Newt pulled out his phone.

"Hey, guys," Newt called.

They turned to him and flashed toothy grins. Newt took the picture and put his phone in a plastic bag that was provided before they got on. Even though he had a bad feeling about the day, something also told him that it was going to be memorable. Judging by the way Teresa laughed at everything Minho said, Newt thought it was going to be most memorable for her.

"We're going up!" Minho yelled as they felt the log get pulled upward.

The rise was slow, mostly to draw out the anticipation for the drop below. Teresa said something about raising their hands. Newt found that whole tradition to be such an odd thing to do when your stomach was about to jump out of your chest, but he obliged. Then they plummeted to the ground below.

 _Whoos_ h. Then a splash and water rose in two walls surrounding them, then collapsed onto the log. It drenched them, but Newt's phone made it out of the ride alive thanks to WICKED's bag. The log skid to a halt and they were told to get out of the ride.

"That was awesome!" Minho yelled. "Anyone wanna do it again?"

It was much better the second time around. Then they left the ride behind, and decided that Minho should stick with them until his friend came to find him. He fit in with them, especially with Teresa. Newt didn't mind that she wasn't talking to him as much, especially because he could hear the enthusiasm behind her voice when she talked to Minho.

"Have you guys been to the arcade yet?" Minho asked. "I have so many tickets if you guys wanna buy something."

Teresa opened her purse to show Minho the 500 tickets she had won. He laughed and told her that his tickets were in a bag with his friend.

"Sucks that he ditched you, must be a terrible friend," Teresa said, but realized how that might have sounded. "Wait! Sorry, I didn't mean that."

"No, it's okay, Minho replied. "Thomas is a free spirit. When he has his mind set on doing something, it's kind of hard to hold him down."

Minho caught sight of something in the distance and pointed, "Let's go on that!"

Newt turned and felt like someone took a vacuum cleaner and sucked out his entire soul from his body. In front of him was the Griever. The rollercoaster was so much more terrifying in person, and Newt had to turn his head all the way back to see the top of the drop. It was just his luck that their new friend would be into incredibly terrifying and stupid rollercoasters as Teresa was.

"Oh, not yet," Teresa said. "Newt's a scaredy cat, so we should go on the smaller rides to warm him up for this one. It's kind of the whole reason we're here in the first place."

"Don't worry, Newt," Minho said. "We'll be with you the whole time.'

Newt's first instinct was to say no. That there was no way in actually hell itself that he would ever get on something that terrifying. He was going to, he really was about to say that, but then he caught sight of Teresa's eyes. She was staring at him like she was dreading his upcoming words. Either that or when Newt would say no that Minho would leave them to go do it by himself. She was begging him to say yes with her eyes and he felt his defenses lower.

"Alright," Newt said. "I'll do it."

Teresa's jaw dropped, and Newt was surprised that it didn't drop completely to the floor. Minho whooped and they all took off for the back of the line. Teresa and Minho were laughing and chatting. She turned to Newt and mouthed 'thank you' before turning back to Minho.

The front of the line came faster than Newt had originally anticipated. They had moved inside a cathedral where the tracks began and saw the empty cart roll and, sealing their fates. Minho and Teresa moved, but Newt was frozen in his place. Teresa noticed and came to him.

"Hey..." She said in a soothing voice. "It'll be okay, let's go."

She grabbed his hands and slowly led him to the seat directly in the middle. Newt was trembling as he sat down. Teresa got into the seat next to him. Minho called out from behind them.

"Hey, Teresa..." Minho patted the empty spot next to him.

Teresa looked at me, unsure. "No, I'll sit with Newt. He's afraid."

"I'll sit with him," A voice called out from behind Teresa.

They all turned to see a brunet teen walk over to them. He was a little more athletic than Minho, but had a softer, puppy-like face. His shaggy brown hair and amber eyes made Newt's heart-rate go faster than the though of the roller-coaster.

"Thomas!" Minho said happily. "My man's here to save the day."

"Really, I'm good-" Teresa started.

"No, really," Newt said, surprised at how raspy his voice was. "I'll be okay."

Teresa looked like she wanted to protest but workers were telling her to get in a seat. Thomas gently moved her out of the way and hopped into the seat with Newt.

"Oh, that's interesting," He said, "The seats are really low on this one."

He sat down, and turned to face Newt. "Hey."

He flashed Newt this smirk, this little side smirk that brighted his entire face. Newt stared at him, turning red. The ride made an odd sound, and Newt jumped. Thomas looked at him concerned.

"Don't think about it, look at me." Thomas demanded. "What's your name?"

"N-Newt," Newt replied, not noticing that the ride started.

'Okay... Newt," Thomas said. "I like that. Just keep looking at me, okay?"

Newt nodded. "What's your favorite place to eat?"

"Fry's," Newt replied.

"Why," Thomas continued, making Newt wonder what was going on with all his questions.

"My friend owns it," Newt replied and miraculously chuckled. "It might just be the best in the city."

"Good, you're doing good," Thomas said. "Look at where we are."

Newt froze, and then looked behind him. The ground seemed millions of miles away from where they were. It took the very breath away from Newt. And then, without warning he turned to Thomas.

"I think I'm gonna be bloody si-" Newt started.

Before Thomas could react Newt threw up on him right before they plummeted in a downward spiral.


	2. The Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the chance meeting with a beautiful stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO happy this fandom isn't dead! I couldn't wait until Friday night to post like last time because Chapter 2 had been written a while ago. Add my instagram @luciferjr_usa if you wanna see who I am.

Newt felt absolutely nothing and everything at the same time. His stomach was numbing him from the inside out so that the only thing he felt was the blood rushing to his head. He was flying too, wasn't that amazing? No, Newt was terrified. He grasped the seat to the point his knuckles were pure white. His mouth was open, but nothing came out. The only person who looked more miserable was, perhaps, the puke-covered boy next to him. Thomas.

_I'm going to die, I'm truly going to die,_ Newt thought.

The whole world was spinning around him in a vast array of colors that made Newt very dizzy. That was interesting actually, the way Newt's skull pounded him to the point he couldn't even see until his body subconsciously subdued him to the darkness.

...

Now Newt's world was a brilliant white. Actually, it was probably just the light. Newt's eyes slowly opened, delighted to see that the world had stopped moving in the time that he was gone. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the ceiling light that assaulted him.

"I think he's waking up," He heard a male voice say. "Teresa!"

Newt could see pretty well at that point. He was in a small room with two people in it. The two were Minho and Teresa. They hopped to their feet and ran to the hospital bed. Both of them were speaking rapidly, and Newt couldn't comprehend a word they were saying.

"Bloody slow down!" Newt whined. "You're giving me a headache. One at a time please."

Minho and Teresa exchanged glances, but Teresa spoke, "You fainted on the ride. You're in the park's doctor's office."

"Where's Thomas?" Newt asked.

Minho pointed to the door on the left side of the room. It had a bathroom sign on it, so Newt assumed he was washing up after- _shit!_ Newt had made a complete fool out of himself in front of the prettiest guy Newt has ever seen in his life. Teresa put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," Teresa said. "He's worried sick about you."

Newt raised a questioning eyebrow at that. Thomas didn't even know him, why would he care about how he was doing. Newt had thrown up on him after all, so Thomas should hate him. Newt's thoughts tormented him until the door that Newt had been staring at opened up slowly. Thomas walked into the room adjusting his shirt when he caught sight of Newt. Thomas lunged over and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh my God," Thomas said. "I was so worried! I've never seen anyone pass out before, so I thought you died!"

Newt sank into the touch, relishing the boy's arms around him. Teresa cleared her throat and Thomas let him go. Still, he watched Newt from afar with his wide, puppy-dog eyes that Newt found himself lost in every time they made eye-contact.

"Sorry," Minho apologized for Thomas. "He's a very touchy person, don't know if you're uncomfortable with that."

"Nah," Newt said catching Thomas's eyes. "He's like a human teddy bear."

Minho laughed. "Yes, that he definitely is. We still have most of the afternoon if you want to keep walking around. I promise we won't go on any rollercoasters."

Newt agreed to leave because honestly, he couldn't stand being in such a cramped room with four people in it. So Newt felt very happy when the exited the building and he felt the sun on his pale skin and the wind blowing through his soft blond hair. Newt smiled into it as if he had been locked in a cage for 30 years and was seeing the light for the first time. He turned to catch Thomas staring at him. The boy turned away at being caught, but pink tinted his cheeks.

"Where are we headed first?" Minho asked.

"I don't know, you're the Captain," Thomas retorted.

"Well try not jumping off ship this time, we're the ones having the most fun," Minho said sarcastically.

Thomas glanced over and Newt and smiled that stupid, bloody smile. "Trust me, I won't."

"Good that then, shank," Minho cheered. "Avast! To the pirate ship we go!"

The group marched off. Teresa was next to Minho. Newt was next to Thomas. It was definitely a change from this morning when it had been just Newt and Teresa, but none of them were going to complain. Thomas walked so close to Newt that their shoulders touched with every step though. Newt knew Thomas was very touchy, but he couldn't ignore the fire that lit up inside them every time they connected.

"So, Newtie," Thomas teased. "You come here often?"

"Do I look like I come here often..." Newt started, trying to think of something. _"Tommy."_

Thomas stopped; red colored his face. "I like that."

Newt barked a laugh, and they made it to the pirate ship ride. The line was short and full of little children. They were the only almost-adults in the line. Everyone in the group seemed to notice, but nobody commented on it. At least, not until Minho decided to.

"We rode this thing _befor_ e it was cool kids, step aside," Minho sneered.

The line moved forward and everybody made it onto the ride. Teresa and Minho sat at the very front while Thomas and Newt sat in the very back. Newt was surprised to see Thomas following him up the ship because of what happened last time they sat together.

"You feeling seasick this time?" Thomas teased. "This time, aim downwards. 5 points if you hit Teresa, 10 for Minho, and 15 for anyone that looks younger than 8."

"I can't believe you still want to sit with me," Newt laughed.

"It's not every day I meet someone like you," Thomas said. "Gotta enjoy moments as they come."

Newt took out his phone, feeling a little more confident than someone who just threw up on their crush hours earlier should feel, and opened the contacts app. Newt handed the phone over to Thomas with a cheeky smile. Thomas looked like he didn't know what to do, and then it clicked to him with an "Oh!" He handed the phone back to Newt who looked at the contact that he set. Instead, Newt saw a chat box opened.

**From Newt: Hey ;)**

"Oh?" Thomas asked. "You texted already?"

He pretended to check his phone saying, "Cheeky."

Newt rolled his eyes, only now realizing that the ride had already started. Newt gazed down at Minho and Teresa. He had his arm wrapped around her and they were laughing at something, Newt couldn't tell what though. Thomas noticed the pair as well and he smiled. Then his gaze fell onto the blond next to him, watching as Newt's hair got ruffled by the wind in whichever direction that the pirate ship swang in.

"You think they got together already?" Newt asked, turning to Thomas. "You okay?"

"Oh- yeah..." Thomas said awkwardly. "I don't think they're together yet, but I bet they will be after today. Minho's never seemed so happy."

They did look happy. Teresa was never happy around anyone, especially if they were a guy. Newt was the only exception because he was gay. He didn't have an ulterior motive to get into her pants, and she trusted him for it. Minho was a different case. He was very much into her, and she was very much into him. It was going to be different for Newt to see Teresa with someone if they ended up together.

"The ride is slowing down," Thomas said.

Newt felt a little sad. He liked being so close to Thomas. Maybe it was a little wrong to be really into a total stranger, but Teresa didn't seem to mind being all over Thomas. Besides, what harm could one tiny little crush do? Exactly, so Newt was going to ride this one out and see where it takes him because he was sick and tired of never taking chances in life. Thomas was going to be his liberation into living.

"Shame," Newt said. "Teresa has work tomorrow anyways, so I doubt we'd be staying much longer."

"Shame," Thomas replied in the same tone that Newt did. "I'm starting to get attached to you two."

Newt blushed. "You have my number, Tommy."

Thomas's eyes went wide at another use of his nickname. He smiled, and pulled out his phone. Newt watched him as he typed out a message and pressed send. Newt felt his phone vibrate and then smiled. He pulled it out to see what Thomas had sent.

**From Thomas: Never stop calling me that :p**

Newt typed out a reply.

**From Newt: Alright... Tommy.**

"What are you shanks doing?" Minho called from the bottom of the ship. "The ride stopped like 5 minutes ago."

Newt and Thomas both glanced at each other and started laughing. There was no concept of time when it came between them, it was just Newt, Thomas, and whatever they wanted to do forever. For once in this God awful place, Newt felt a little bit of happiness.

"We're coming!" Thomas yelled back.

He hopped to his feet and skipped towards them. He tripped once and ran into one of the seats ("Ow!") And kept walking. Newt gracefully walked towards them, his blonde hair making a halo around his head that Thomas couldn't ignore.

"You look like an actual angel," Thomas said. "I mean with the hair and stuff."

"It's called conditioner," Newt said in the most flamboyant accent ever. "You should try it sometime."

Minho and Teresa cheered for Newt. Thomas looked away, but smiled nevertheless. Then the group decided that it was time for some food. They stopped at a concession stand where all of them bought an assortment of different food items.

"Nachos are my favorite," Thomas told Newt when they sat down. "Queso dip, and it just ices the cake."

He did a chef's kiss with his hand and Newt giggled- actually giggled! Teresa threw him a look across from him, but Newt stuck his tongue out at her and gestured to Minho who fell asleep on her shoulder when Newt and Thomas were getting their food.

"Where do you guys live?" Thomas asked, mostly directed toward Newt.

"In this city," Teresa answered. "Near Peterson Park."

"No way!" Thomas shouted. "I live near there too!"

Teresa and Thomas got into a conversation about the city and how underated it was compared to the rest of the world. Newt listened quietly, enjoying the fact that the two people they had met today they had met because Teresa finally got him to get out of his comfort zone. He felt good now, especially because he now had someone like Thomas in his life. It was an interesting new twist to his typically boring life.

"You want some nachos Newt?" Thomas asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

"I'm good," Newt said. "You bought them."

Thomas didn't answer, and Newt turned around to look at the park dimmimg with the setting sun. When he turned back, he didn't know what he was expecting, but Thomas dangling a cheesy nacho in front of his mouth was not something he could see coming. Newt opened his mouth to protest, but Thomas stuck the chip in his mouth. Newt hesitantly bit down.

"You didn't have to," Newt said while chewing. "It's your food and-"

"No talking with your mouth open, Newtie." Thomas smirked.

Minho took this opportunity to wake up. He yawned in a really dramatic manner, but still clung onto Teresa. She threw him off of her, pretending to be annoyed, but Newt knew his best friend. She wished he had stayed there a little while longer.

"I think we should get going," Teresa said. "It's getting late."

"No!" Thomas whined like a child. "Newt, you have to ride a roller coaster with me. The city looks so beautiful from high up and you can see the whole sunset."

"Maybe next time," Newt politely declined his offer. "I think I've thrown up on you enough for today."

"Okay." Thomas sulked. "I want a hug though."

Newt rolled his eyes, but wrapped Thomas in a warm embrace. Minho and Teresa were saying goodbye as well, promising to meet up with each other as soon as possible. Newt and Thomas didn't need to do that though, they both knew they couldn't stay away from each other.

Thomas watched Newt walk away, not that he noticed. Teresa and Newt walked all the way to her car without saying a word. She unlocked it, hopped in, and made it so Newt could open the door. When he sat in the seat, that was when Teresa finally wanted to talk about what had happened today.

"You like Thomas?" Teresa asked.

"You like Minho?" Newt countered.

"Good that, let's go home." Teresa put the keys in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot.

"For the record, you owe me one," She piped up again. "If you two end up screwing, it'll be all because I managed to get you there."

Newt's house wasn't large, and not in the best neighborhood either. Teresa dropped him off, and sped out of there as soon as he closed the door. He walked up the steps, onto the porch, and opened the door. It was around eight, so his parents were on the living room couch watching tv.

"Have fun?" Newt's mom asked.

Newt didn't know how to respond. "Teresa paid, so you don't need to worry about owing anyone anything for today."

"Newt, sweetie, that's not what I asked," Newt's mom said to comfort him. "Our financial struggles are none of your business, you still get to be a kid and have fun. So tell me, how was it?"

"Well," Newt started. "There was this boy..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to look at my other works while you wait for me to update this one.


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